Police officers were called to downtown Galt and nearby parts of Cambridge on Tuesday – only to learn that the armed person they were seeking was actually a soldier doing a training exercise.
Shortly before noon, Waterloo Regional Police started receiving calls about a man wearing camouflage and holding a rifle.
The man was first seen on Ainslie Street, then near Water Street, then on the Cambridge-to-Paris Rail Trail.
“There was a gentleman in front of me in full camo gear with a rifle,” said Kevin Byrne of his encounter with the man on the trail.
Byrne said he was initially wondering if he was in danger, before he saw the man sit down, pull out a two-way radio and use it to contact somebody.
When officers caught up with the man, they learned that he was member of the Canadian Armed Forces practicing in preparation for his upcoming deployment. He had set out from the nearby armoury.
Anna Rocha, who runs a grocery store in the area, says it’s not uncommon for soldiers from the armoury to practice in the area – but they typically do it in large groups.
Even so, she said, the site of one man in camouflage and holding a rifle wouldn’t be enough for her to be calling the police.
“If he’s dressed as a soldier, I’m assuming he knows what he’s doing,” she said.
“It’s nice to know that our soldiers are being trained – we wouldn’t want them there untrained.”
Brittany Malatt, who also works nearby, says military training is a regular occurrence, but a soldier with a rifle is something she’s never seen before.
She, too, wasn’t concerned about Tuesday’s exercise.
“They’re here to protect us – why would I be alarmed?” she said.
It’s not clear whether police were given advance notice of the training exercise – or, if they had been, why they sent officers to check it out.
Later Tuesday afternoon, the soldier was again seen on Ainslie Street, walking back to the armoury.
With reporting by Max Wark
